Ballast Nedam Offshore installed the 80th and last monopile at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm in the German sector of the North Sea.
The installation of all these monopiles was completed well within four-month time. This exceptional achievement is entirely due to the efforts of a dedicated and professional team, working both at Ballast Nedam and at WPD. The actual installation work was performed by the HLV Svanen. In a highly efficient operation, a continuous stream of floating monopiles was transported from Esbjerg to the offshore site.
WPD’s Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm is located in the German Bight, 32 kilometres west of the German island of Sylt. The depth of the sea at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm ranges from 17 to 22 metres. The wind farm itself consists of 80 turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 MW (288 MW in total).
The monopile installation work at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm is just part of the total EPCI foundation package that was contracted out to Ballast Nedam. The organisation is proud of the fact that all operations to date, including the design, certification and fabrication of the foundations, as well as the installation of monopiles, have met the agreed deadlines.
The design work was completed in-house by Ballast Nedam Engineering. All aspects of fabrication and logistics management were handled by Ballast Nedam Offshore, including the highly effective feeding method involving the use of offshore loadouts. Work on the transition pieces is proceeding as planned, and almost 50% of them have now been installed.
It goes without saying that offshore installation is, and will continue to be, challenging work. This is illustrated by the unfortunate incident that occurred just a few weeks ago. We’re glad to be able to report that the person who sustained injuries on that occasion is now recovering. We have been able to learn from that incident, and have since made improvements to our working methods. Ultimately, in the offshore wind sector, improvements are essential if we are to reach a higher standard of safety.
Press Release, July 22, 2014